The training voyage aboard the Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) offers a unique opportunity to put classroom knowledge into practice and work in an international team, Bulgarian and foreign cadets on board told BTA. They spoke about how the experience would benefit their future careers and about the challenges of working aboard the vessel.
Third-year cadet Desislava Musinska, who is studying Naval Navigation at the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy, is training in navigation under the supervision of Lieutenant Commander Ivaylo Mitishev. She said cadets had opportunities to train each summer in different naval units in Varna and Burgas. This year, she spent a month with the 18th Auxiliary Ships Division in Varna and also took part in a short training voyage from Cartagena to Varna when RSV 421 was on its way back from Antarctica in April.
She described short-term training as a valuable opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired in lectures and computer-based training to real-life situations aboard a ship. For a navigator, this includes learning to determine a ship’s position using different methods. “Just now, together with our instructor, we had the opportunity to take a bearing and distance to a given object and then determine the ship’s position on the chart,” she said. “I want to become a navigation officer aboard a warship, and one of my main duties will be to determine the ship’s position, keep the watch log and plot courses on the chart.”
She also highlighted the opportunity to interact with foreign cadets and build connections with students from other years at the Naval Academy. “The foreign cadets follow different training programmes, and in some cases they are considerably more advanced than us, which gives us an opportunity to learn a lot from them, and vice versa,” she said.
At the start of RSV 421’s fifth Antarctic expedition, foreign cadets from Turkiye, Poland and Ukraine are among those on board.
Turkish cadets Eren Karahan, a fourth-year student, and Zekeriya Kemal Altundas, a third-year student, are specializing in industrial engineering and computer science, respectively, as part of the navigation programme at the Turkish Military Academy. For Altundas, this is his first international training voyage, while Karahan has previously trained aboard ships travelling to Germany, the Netherlands and China.
Karahan said the experience was great because it allowed them to see many different cultures. “When you see different people, you can make friends with them. And every time you go somewhere, there is someone you can talk to, ask questions or turn to if you have a problem,” he told BTA.
He added that training voyages at the Turkish Military Academy mainly involved sailing in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. That is why their training aboard RSV 421 would focus mainly on the stretch between Antalya and Cartagena. “They wanted us to see new things. So it will be a different experience for us to see the Spanish side of the seas,” Karahan said. “Sailing in the Black Sea is actually very difficult. The waves are all strong. This is a new experience for us, too,” he added.
Training aboard RSV 421 is an opportunity for a new experience. “Mainly, this is an opportunity to work with different people. For me, this is the first time I have worked with someone who is not Turkish or does not speak Turkish. So it is a great experience to work with another person for whom my language is not their native language,” Altundas said.
The Polish cadets aboard Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii also told BTA that working in an international team offers them many learning opportunities.
David, from the Polish Naval Academy of the Heroes of Westerplatte, said this was his first international training voyage. Although it was only the fourth day of the voyage, he already knew that it would be very useful to him in the future. “I feel very good here because we are doing the same things that are expected of us when we are on duty during our training,” he said. “Navigation requires precision, and that is exactly what we are learning here.”
He added that the training was also useful because it gave him an opportunity to improve his English. “I think my English is not good enough, and here I can practise it, as well as my navigation skills,” David said.
Cadets in their second year of the Ship Machinery and Mechanisms programme at the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy are also undergoing training aboard RSV 421 under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Julian Minchev.
Denislav Hristov, a cadet Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class, told BTA that the training for cadets in the engine room was divided into two stages – the ship’s voyage to Antalya and then to Cartagena.
“We stand watches in the engine room, checking the oil and monitoring the machinery and diesel generators. There is a training, theoretical part, followed by practical work,” Hristov explained. “The training is valuable because in a short time you gain a lot of knowledge that you cannot acquire at the academy – practical skills and the finer points of working aboard a ship, because every ship is different,” he said.
The RSV 421 departed from Varna on November 4 on its fifth voyage to Antarctica, as part of the 35th Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition. A formal military send-off ceremony was held at the Passenger Terminal of the Port of Varna.
The vessel set course for Antarctica to help support the Bulgarian polar expedition and the research activities at the Bulgarian St Kliment Ohridski Base on Livingston Island. The Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy in Varna has emphasized that RSV 421’s mission is essential for developing Bulgaria’s polar presence, conducting scientific research and strengthening the country’s role as an active participant in international Antarctic cooperation.
A BTA national press club has been operating aboard RSV 421 since 2022. Media representatives are also taking part in its fifth expedition. They are reporter Simona-Alex Mihaleva and photojournalist Milena Stoykova, who will remain aboard the Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii until Antalya.

Cadets on Board Bulgarian Research Vessel Say Antarctic Training Voyage Offers Valuable Practical Experience THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-11-07 05:15:00

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